Chapter Text
A storm is coming to Tokyo. Dark and heavy clouds fill the sky, plunging the whole city into darkness. Rain has been falling for hours now. People in the street run to get to their destination, even the people who were ready for the rain with parkas and umbrellas. Mine too is walking in a hurry, but it’s not worry that powers his steps. He walks with long strides motivated by excitement. After a long week of having to deal with finicky inside sources, he can finally enjoy some personal time.
His path leads him to a bar in a run-down part of town. A place that would not have caught his eye just a year ago. The front is dirty no matter how many times the owner tries to clean it. The bricks of the wall are exposed in places, and those he can see are cracked. No one could know that behind the door was a very fine establishment, a place with a nice cozy atmosphere and a bar that kept only the best bottles. Mine isn’t one to be deceived by appearances, but if it wasn’t for Daigo Dojima, he would have never given this place a second glance.
His steps come to halt in front of the large window taking up almost all of the facade. Looking inside, he can already see the man he came here to meet. Daigo Dojima is sitting in his usual spot, his back turned to him. He is a man of habits. It is still a bit funny to Mine that they have come to develop this routine around this bar. They’ve been doing this regularly for almost a year. It’s always Daigo-san who invites him for drinks, and of course, Mine accepts and clears his schedule to be able to meet his chairman’s demands. Nothing is more important than him after all.
Then they meet in the same bar they exchanged their vows in, after his chairman saved him from certain death. When he showed him how bright he could shine. They always sit in the same seats. Daigo-san in the third stool, the one in the middle of the bar, and Mine at his left. They order the same drinks. Brandy with three ice. They toast, and then they talk all night long. Well, if they’re not interrupted by urgent business. But most of the time, they spend all evening chatting about everything and anything and exchanging laughs. They’re Mine’s favourite nights. The ones that make all his efforts seem worth it.
Just seeing the back of Daigo Dojima warms his chest. He’s such a striking figure that his shoulders alone are worth admiring.
And then, the chairman turns around and spots him looking at him through the window, standing like a fool in the rain. Mine tries hard to keep his composure. Daigo-san always does this. For some reason, he seems to always know when Mine is around. Or where he is exactly. He feels caught. Guilty of something, but of what? He knows he should do something. Maybe wave at him. But it seems like a silly idea. Until his chairman’s eyes soften and a smile appears on his lips. He tilts his head to the side, towards his left, where Mine’s place is. Mine obeys on the spot. He gets into motion and walks into the bar.
The inside is warm, and a soothing piano plays on the speakers to add to the mood of the bar. Mine sheds his wet coat and hangs it before walking to his chairman.
“I hope I didn’t make you wait too long, Ch-” He catches himself, remembering that during their nights out, he mustn’t refer to his chairman by his title. “-Daigo-san.” He says as he takes a seat next to him.
Daigo-san smiles at him. “Not at all.” Like clockwork, the moment Mine is settled on the stool, drinks are served in front of them. “I took the liberty of ordering before you got there, is that alright? I just asked for the same stuff as usual.”
Mine barely even glances at the glass of whiskey put in front of him. If it’s the same drink he always gets, he knows he’s going to enjoy it just fine. But he doesn’t come here for the alcohol. Not exclusively. He could buy that bottle for himself and drink it at home, comfortably settled in his living room. If he comes all the way to this place, it’s for the company. It’s because of what this bar holds. The place where he swore his life to Daigo Dojima.
“It’s perfect, thank you.” He bows his head and takes a sip. The alcohol is bitter on his lips and burns all the way down his throat but it does its job of warming him from the inside. When he looks back to Daigo-san, he sees him looking at him with a concerned expression. “Is something wrong?”
“Your hair is soaking wet. Are you not cold?”
Absent-mindedly, Mine lifts his hand to his hair. It is, indeed, wet. He didn’t realize it as he was walking under the rain and looking through the window of the bar. His hairdo is completely ruined now. After he spent so much time making it perfect knowing he would meet with his chairman once the day was over. He tries to order his hair a bit, combing his fingers through chestnut locks. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me, Chairman.”
In spite of his words, Daigo-san turns to the bartender and asks if he has a towel for Mine. He leaves to look for it in the back and comes back only a few minutes later. Mine stares at it for a moment. He doesn’t want to dry his hair with some random towel. That’s going to mess his hair even more than the rain could. But if it can ease his chairman’s worries, he can at least put it around his shoulders to keep them dry.
His chairman is always like this with him. Always fussing over him as if Mine couldn’t take care of himself. It’s not that Daigo-san got fooled by the way he presents himself. The first night he invited him to this bar, they ended up fighting side by side against Omi men. He witnessed just how strong Mine really was and he even said that he could rely on him and not hold back with him. But he still worries about him. Probably because of the way they got to know each other. Because Mine needed to be saved by him.
If it was anyone else, Mine would be pissed off by their behaviour. He would tell them off, saying he doesn’t need them and their false sympathy. But coming from Daigo Dojima, he knows the concern is genuine. And though it is annoying at times, it still makes his heart feel warmer at the thought that someone genuinely cares about him. And that Mine cares about that person too. Daigo Dojima is the only one he’s ever really been interested to know more about. To get closer to. He was the first person he felt like he could trust and call a friend.
They have been going to bars to share drinks and laughs for almost a year now. It’s been almost a year since Mine swore his allegiance to his chairman. He realized it a few weeks ago, and hasn’t stopped thinking about it ever since. Time has never flown so fast before. They’re both very busy, having important roles in the clan, but mostly because he never sees the hours pass when he’s with Daigo-san. A year is a milestone to celebrate, isn’t it? The idea crossed his mind once, and now it keeps coming back.
He wants to do something to celebrate that anniversary, to show his chairman all of his appreciation. He could at least give him a gift. Maybe flowers? But he never knows what kind of flowers to get for him, and then they seem like a cheap gift. Daigo Dojima deserves something that will not wilt away and die after a day. So maybe an expensive brandy? By the way Daigo-san always seems to enjoy his drinks, it seems like a good idea. He just has to nail his taste and purchase a bottle he would absolutely love.
Watching his chairman smile with satisfaction as he dips his lips in his drink, Mine wonders if he’s not being ridiculous. It feels silly, going to such length for something his chairman probably doesn’t even remember. But it feels right. He wants to celebrate what they have. And he finds nothing better to do than to buy him an expensive and thoughtful gift. He wants to make him happy, or at least half as happy Daigo-san made him this past year.
“Do you have plans for the weekend?”
Daigo-san’s question troubles Mine. Could he read what he was thinking on his face? He was considering going out into town to pick an appropriate gift, but he can’t really talk about it now, can he? He wants it to be a surprise. Though if he lies and says he has no plan, maybe his chairman will offer to do something together. And how could he refuse?
“I’m a bit behind on work, so… I’ll be busy.”
“Ah, really?” Daigo-san turns to him again, a pout on his face. “That’s not like you.”
“It wasn’t my fault, obviously.” Mine fakes an annoyed sigh. “Some inside source getting cold feet. I’ll have to pay them a visit.”
“I see… It’s a shame, do you really have to do this in your free time? You deserve to rest, you know?”
Mine stares at him for a moment, his fingers playing with the rim of his whiskey glass, trying to understand why he would be so insistent on the matter. Maybe he did have plans that he wanted to invite Mine to. And now he has disappointed him because he won’t be able to attend. If that’s the case… he might have to rethink his entire plan and find a story to free his weekend. “Do you have plans for the weekend, Daigo-san?”
“Yeah, there’s the women’s baseball tournament happening. I hope my team wins.” He smirks, before taking another sip of his drink.
“I take it you are a lot into baseball, then?” Mine asks, already knowing the answer. He dug up all existing pieces of intel available about Daigo Dojima before he joined the Tojo clan. He knows he used to love playing baseball as a kid, and then was a big supporter of his High School team. Being quite reckless with it too.
Mine just wasn’t sure he still had time to attend games. He’s wondering if he should offer him something baseball-related for their anniversary. He doesn’t know a lot about it. Only what’s written about in the papers. He was never really interested in watching sports. More in competing in them. But if that’s Daigo-san’s roundabout way of asking him to come with him, he would accept. He wonders how he acts in the bleachers. Could he be a wild and passionate supporter? Or is he always so elegant and charismatic? He would like to see that.
“I am.” Daigo-san nods with a smile. “Oh, I didn’t tell you? Last weekend were the selections and that was already intense. I took pictures if you want to see.”
“Of course.” Mine agrees immediately. It would be strange for a man to go to a baseball match all dressed-up in a suit and tie, wouldn’t it? So Daigo-san would be going casually. He feels a bit too excited to see what he would choose to wear in his free time. He thinks back on some old photos he saw of him, before he became Sixth Chairman. If he wears those clothes to go incognito in public, it would work quite well.
Daigo-san takes out his flip phone and starts looking for pictures. Mine shuffles his stool closer to him in order to look at them. He’s only a bit disappointed to see that most of them are photos of the field.
“This is Kouji-san. She had a mean curve-ball, let me tell you. I think she could easily make the…”
As his chairman starts to explain enthusiastically what he saw during his free day, Mine makes a mental note of learning about baseball rules. But even if he understands little of what he says, he listens and feels something warm spread in his chest. It’s probably because of the light dancing in Daigo-san’s eyes, or the softness of his smile. It’s contagious. Mine can’t hide the curve of his own lips, but it’s not his fault. He’s always at peace when he’s with Daigo-san. Is that so strange? He made a vow to protect that happiness after all, more or less. At least, that’s what his vow became.
But as Daigo flips through the pictures, something catches his eye. One of them features a woman. Though she is not the center of attention of the photograph, she is looking right at the camera and appears to be laughing. Daigo-san’s voice becomes distant, his words barely registering to Mine. He just stares at her as she laughs, happiness dancing in her bright eyes. Seeing her position in the picture, she seems to be seated next to the chairman. When he flips to the next one, he sees her again, though her face is half out of frame, he recognizes her clothes.
“Who is that?” The question comes out before he can even think about it.
“That’s still Kouji-san.”
“No, not her. Her.” Mine clarifies, pointing to the corner of the picture where the woman is half hidden.
“Hm? Oh, I suppose I never told you about her, huh? That’s Emiko, my girlfriend.”
Girlfriend.
Girlfriend?
Mine’s mind goes blank, completely stunned by the nonchalant reply. He must have misheard somehow. He doesn’t believe Daigo-san ever talked about having a girlfriend. It feels very wrong. More than shocked, he’s appalled. He can’t see his chairman dating a woman. He can’t see him dating anyone, really. Or if he was indeed dating someone... wouldn’t he invite them out for drinks? Wouldn’t they share anecdotes and laughs until late at night? Wouldn’t they stumble out to the nearest taxi together, standing a bit closer than necessary? He feels his heart beating louder in his chest. There must be a misunderstanding.
“Girlfriend?” He asks, his disbelief, and also some form of betrayal, seeping through his voice.
“Ah, is it too immature for a thirty year-old to say girlfriend?” Daigo chuckles, scratching his cheek in embarrassment. “My partner, then.”
This is worse. This is much worse. He wishes he could take back his question and just forget about it, but it’s too late. He feels something in his throat. Something with a bitter taste, something sharp and hard to swallow. Something that hurts and makes it hard to breathe. His heart contracts and refuses to start beating again. His gaze is drawn back to that picture and that woman. That Emiko.
From what he saw of her, she looks pretty thin and tall. Her eyes are almost aligned with the camera of Daigo-san’s phone, at least. Which he would hold at his head to take a picture. She has long raven black hair and straight bangs cut a few centimeters above her thin eyebrows. Her face has an oval shape, sculpted with deep but harmonious features. She has round cheekbones and narrow cheeks and full, round lips. She wears makeup, even at a baseball game. Dark maroon lipstick, and black eye-shadow and sharp liner under her hazel eyes to highlight her piercing gaze. She is as beautiful as women can be, Mine thinks.
When he looks up to the phone and to his Chairman, he sees his eyebrows raised. This makes him realize how furrowed his own are. How tight his lips are pressed together. He is showing his discomfort too much, for a feeling he doesn’t even know the origin of.
“I didn’t know you had a-” He can’t say that word again. “-someone, Daigo-san…”
“To be honest, I try to not bring her up.” Daigo sighs, closing his phone.
Mine could flinch with how sudden the motion is, if he wasn’t staring at his chairman because of his strange reply. Those are not the words a man would say about his beloved partner, and for some reason it makes him feel relieved. “Are you ashamed of her?”
“Oh, no!” Daigo lets out a startled laugh. “On the contrary. But… you know how my position is still… unstable. And this life can be dangerous. I don’t want my enemies to know about her. That would put her life at risk. I can’t do that to her.”
Mine can see Daigo-san’s smile turn sour. The lines under his eyes deepen. He looks genuinely worried about it, and Mine hates it. If she can’t handle the danger that comes with dating a Yakuza leader, then maybe she’s not right for him. As his lieutenant and junior assistant, it is Mine’s responsibility to make sure she has good intentions and is a good match for the sixth chairman. He just needs to gather more information about her. “She’s just a civilian?”
“That’s right.” He nods, bringing his glass back to his lips.
“Then how did you two meet?”
“Oh, hum… It’s not very interesting.”
Mine’s frown relaxes a little bit. The strange, cutting feeling that settled in his guts a bit alleviated by curiosity. He thinks he can see a bit of pink dusting his cheeks. Was their meeting embarrassing? His frown returns. Could she have dirt on him? “Please, tell me anyway. Nothing you could say could change my opinion of you, Daigo-san.”
“Really?” He smirks, side-eyeing him before letting out a short sigh. “If you really want to know… I may not look like it, but I used to be a bit of a punk. Before you say anything, I know, I know…”
As Daigo-san looks away, clearly ashamed of his admission, Mine manages to keep a straight face. That’s what he was embarrassed about? His past? Mine already knows all of it. He knows every little detail that he could think is awkward. And, true, Mine might have thought the tight leather pants were ridiculous, and unbecoming of a Yakuza boss. But they were not ridiculous or unbecoming on Daigo-san. They suited him, just like his too-big white puffer jacket and his huge metal cross and his edgy eyeliner. He looks at his superior, his one true friend, and having him share this bit of history he finds embarrassing threatens a smile on his lips. They share a lot with each other, and he feels so privileged to be able to know what lies under this perfectly tailored chairman-persona. He knows more about him than the other man would like, probably.
But… it’s not like Daigo-san could be aware. Mine’s researches about him should remain a secret, if he doesn’t want to be branded a spy or a plant. Which could be really believable, seeing how quickly he rose the ranks of the Tojo. Even for a man of his skills. He supposes it’s just that Daigo-san had an eye for him. Or, well, that’s what he thought until...
His fingers clench on his glass of whisky which starts hissing in return. Thankfully, Daigo-san’s smooth voice picks up again.
“Anyway, one time I went to a concert a bit outside of Tokyo and I got really, really wasted… To the point where I couldn’t even get into my car to drive back home. Well, it turned out it was because it wasn’t my car at all, heh. Thankfully… the owner wasn’t too mad at me. Call it my natural charm.” He chuckles. “She offered to drive me home and… the rest is history.”
Mine’s eyebrows twitch, his finger tightening again on the abused glass he barely drank from, but he has to know. “She stayed the night?”
His chairman chokes on his drink, hitting his chest to clear his lungs. Mine takes this opportunity to put his hand on his back to offer some support. When he’s recovered and merely catching his breath, he lets his hand rub soothing circles between his shoulders. But the look Daigo-san gives him, wide-eyed and cheeks scarlet, make him self-conscious. He pulls back his touch, with fingers tense. He still wants his answer, though he’s not exactly sure why. Maybe knowing would make up his mind about this Emiko. This whole thing seems a bit precipitated. She wasn’t even mad at a drunk trying to break into his car and then she went back home with him? Who would do that? Maybe she was a plant. Someone sent by a rival family to keep an eye on the son of Sohei Dojima.
“To be completely honest with you...” Daigo-san begins again, and Mine feels relieved he won’t have to ask again. It was mortifying enough the first time. “I couldn’t know.”
Well maybe he would have preferred to never know. Hot anger fills his veins. “Are you saying she took advantage of you?”
“No, nothing like that, God.” He clarifies while waving his hand in front of him. “But like I told you, I was completely wasted, and not just with alcohol. I don’t think I would have been able to... hum, do anything with her, even if I wanted. All I know is she left her number that night.”
“I see.”
Mine watches as his chairman grabs his drink and throws it back in just one swing. Impressive. He orders another, his face still red, though his lieutenant could not tell if it's because of the alcohol or shame. He could think his reaction endearing. Getting alcohol and drugs at a concert and then going home with a girl is fairly common when you’re young. Especially when you’re a young delinquent. Did his chairman really think Mine saw him as some sort of saint? He admires him for all that he is, not just who he appears to be.
But beyond his fondness there’s a storm brewing. He can’t stop thinking about this woman, how she looked in that picture, standing so close to his chairman, how satisfied her smile looked. And the more he thinks about her the more he feels his blood boil.
He wants to- He needs to- He doesn’t know yet. He can’t put his finger on it and it’s so frustrating. But he has to do something.
“What did you say her full name was?”
“Huh, it’s Emiko. Emiko Kaminami. Do you know her?”
“No, that’s the thing, I never saw her before in-” He stops himself before betraying that he has many pictures of Daigo-san from various periods of his life. “-Kamurocho. Is she from Tokyo?”
“No, but she studied here.”
“What year?”
Slowly, one of Daigo-san’s eyebrows rises. It makes it hard for Mine to hold his gaze, which becomes a bit more inquisitive. There’s a cold, fast feeling covering his body. He’s never felt nervous before. Not even when he witnessed the attempt on his chairman’s life that claimed eight lives. Not even when he met him for the first time in his office. But right now, a lukewarm shiver runs down his spine. He can’t know what Mine is trying to do, nor why he’s acting this way. Not even Mine knows why.
Thankfully, Daigo-san speaks again. “If you’re so curious about her, how about you meet her?”
“Meet with her?” Mine blinks.
“Sure.” He shrugs. “We’re friends, aren’t we? You’re not just part of my Yakuza life, but also my private life. I never wanted to... hide her from you. I’m sure she would like you.”
For a second, the thought makes him want to laugh and gag at the same time. He has absolutely no interest in that woman. He has no intention of getting closer to her or letting her into his private circle, which only consists of Daigo-san. But then he realizes that he can try and gather all the available intelligence, he might still miss something as big and important as a hidden girlfriend. Even though his network is now much better than before. He can’t take any risks. Not when the subject is his chairman. Meeting directly with that Emiko is the best way to judge her character with his own eyes, and determine if her intentions with Daigo-san are pure. Or if she even deserves to be with him.
“I would be honoured to meet her.”
His chairman smiles at him. “Great then. We’ll organize a cozy dinner at our place.”
Our place. They live together? How could Mine have missed this? He turns his face back to his drink with a scowl. As if the alcohol itself was responsible for what was happening, and the brooding feeling in his chest. But there’s not much he can do about these things now. He will meet with that Emiko soon enough, but not before he digs up everything he can about her. Asking Daigo-san directly seems to make him uncomfortable. And he’s not about to trust what comes out of her mouth when he interrogates her when he meets her. This time he won’t miss any crucial detail. He will make sure of it.
The rest of the night goes like many others before. They drink and they talk about things that happened to them, or thoughts they had. They don’t laugh as much. Mine doesn’t have a mind for jokes anyway. After a few hours, they decide to both head home. Mine makes sure that his chairman makes it safely inside a taxi.
The minute the door closes, he takes out his phone and calls the man with the most reliable network of information he knows.
“Zenba. I need to know all there is to know about an Emiko Kaminami, ASAP.”
The rain has stopped, but there is still a deep growl rumbling through his body. Dark clouds fill up his vision. The storm has only begun.